Literary Teacher Isekai

A ragtag group of strangers stood atop of a tavern roof, the pale moonlight casting four long lines of shadows. It was here, by chance and necessity, that they were about to form a temporary alliance—one that would hopefully stand against their current adversary.

Ashley and Cassius were on board on this, the other person, didn't have a choice. He could either form a party with them, or wait for another less fortunate soul to lend him aid—which was unlikely given the state he was in, he has been called a 'pervert' by a lot of strangers today. Hadn't it been for Ashley, he would've abandoned his virtue of pacifism. Regardless, the night was cold and he was buck naked.

"H-hey, I'm freeezing, I'll join the team j-just throw me a b-blanket or s-something."

Ashley, finally done toying with him, throws him a blanket. "You better return it after taking it to the laundry."

The tall man gratefully took and proceeded to engrave a rune on the blanket "Gemütlichkeit" (LRP Cost: 1) the tall man whispered and the blanket radiated a gentle warmth that the others could also feel.

"A tendency leaning to runechanter... Amazing..." Cassius remarked.

"What's so amazing? You mean you can't do that?" Ashley retorts.

"I have manifested tendencies towards the diviner class, runechanting with soul ink would cost me about 8 LRP per word, I wouldn't waste it on warmth."

"I see. So this fella spends less LRP for runechanting? how much exactly?"

"Only 1 LRP per word," the gentle giant replied. He introduces himself as Lorenz Le Queux. Now that he is calm, the party had a good look at him. He wasn't a giant by any stretch of the imagination, he explains that he is half dwarf half giant, making him a little more taller than the average human.

After a while of GTKY (getting to know each other), Ethan stood up, his long robe swayed in the evening breeze, a distant, contemplative look in his eyes. He finally mustered the courage to speak to the new stranger, his calm and collected voice belied his introverted personality.

"Alright, then. We find ourselves in an unfortunate situation," he began, adjusting the spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. "What I fail to grasp is, why are we all standing on top of the tavern roof Cassius?"

"Diviners' intuition. Professor Ex is sure to pass this way."

"Remind me the percentage of your intuition being right?"

"Well, I–"

"Exactly. We've been standing here for more than an hour. Let's all climb down and GET this man a shield," Ethan chides Cassius off.

"Well, I was just trying to be helpful."

"Oooh, Wakanda forevah!" Ashley exclaims smirking, eager to break the tension.

"Ashley? We don't do that here," Ethan grins back and raises a fist bump to which she playfully punches his fist back.

"We know, Cassy. Your diviners' gift is great and all, but you gotta add a little tact in order to actually see results. Standing on the roof would've warded off anyone who plans to pass by this area. With the moon in full bloom, we have deliberately shown our presence to the enemy. Right, professor?" Ashley interjects.

"Right," Ethan replied, genuinely surprised how Ashley read him like a book.

"I know it's not my place to speak but, couldn't you have just told him so we didn't have to waste time?" Lorenz inquired.

"Failure is a necessary obstacle if one is to get stronger. It is better to fail within the confines of a controlled learning environment, than to fail when the stakes are high. It was a necessary experience for him," Ethan lectures.

"But doing it right the first time saves a lot of time—"

Before Lorenz could finish speaking, huge explosions erupted across the city.

Chaos ensues. People are frantically running everywhere, panic and mass hysteria have clouded their judgment. As though a deliberate attempt to establish order amidst the chaos, a notification popped up in each of the adventurers' interface:

[ SYSTEM WARNING : FOREIGN THREAT DETECTED ]

- A foreign entity invaded the examination system. Requesting all adventurers to protect the city, failure will result to termination of the current exam -

- Reward: Double your town favorability -

Even before reading the notification, our ragtag group of adventurers has already begun their move. No way are they turning a blind eye to people who were suffering, with the added benefit of a reward, their motivation skyrocketed.

"Ischyró frágma! No one can hurt me without my permission!" (LRP Cost 10), Ethan and Ashley encoded their mentors' signature spell while rushing in the chaos— A burning window which was about to fall on a child was swatted away by Ethan's writing spear while Ashley's pen transformed into a whip that fended off the other falling debris.

Lorenz decoded the warmth spell (LRP Cost: 1) and encoded a new one on his blanket:

"Robust und kalt" (LRP Cost: 3) the blanket stiffened with a cold sturdiness that shielded him from the heat as he went in a burning building to save a trapped old lady.

As seconds tick by, more and more adventurers joined in the rescue, eager to grab the double reputation boost.

Amidst all the screaming, the smoke and the heat, Ethan realizes that Cassius was no where to be found. He wanted to go and find him, but alas the town needed him more. I won't be able to find him amidst all these chaos anyway, might as well deal with the problem that's in front of me.

To make matters worse, several goblins have been found attacking citizens with unbridled frenzy. While the adventurers are able to make short work of them, their sheer numbers made it an arduous task.

Seeing this, Ethan summons Lexcalibre, channels his soul ink and uses it to runechant both his writing spear and Ashley's formless pen. Recalling the terrifying slicing power of Miss Trusts' spell, he encoded the word "Vulnus" on both weapons.

[ Activate Armor Enchantments? (Y/N) ]

"Activate Bracers of Samson's Strength, Activate Boots of Sprightly Jump", Ethan and Ashley spoke in unison. There was no need to waste spells on numerous enemies, for mobs of less power but large quantity, Faye had taught them to fight head on. All of their preparations: the armor, the weapons, the spells, and the training– are all in full display at this moment.

Ashley held out her hand to Ethan. Her cheeks blushed a little bit, making Ethan recall the time when he reluctantly agreed to be her 18th rose. What he didn't know though, was that Ashley deliberately left that spot open– a supposed once in a lifetime gamble to get to dance with the person she admired the most. "Shall we?"

Ethan smiled. She wasn't the same damsel in distress he found at the library, she had grown to be a fine lady capable of taking the lead. He held her hand and both jumped into the fray.

The two coordinated their attacks tearing goblin limbs left and right. It wasn't much of fight, it was a massacre. The other bronze adventurers stood in awe at their brilliant coordination, Ethan, a precise shadow surgically chopping through mobs while Ashley spins through the battlefield as a free flowing red blade accompanies her graceful strides.

It was a long night, the citizens' safety was an uphill battle, it took several hours before all the explosive glyphs had been diffused, the perimeter secured, casualties and survivors all accounted for. Granted the town would've been wiped out without the adventurers, but the horrors of the destruction still loomed the town. As the double reputation had not yet been rewarded, the adventurers surmised that more help had to be given to finally trigger the reward, so they started rebuilding the fallen city.

As the group prepared to set out to find Cassius, they were shocked to see the boy limping towards them. His armor reduced to tattered rags, his body and face beaten up black and blue. There was utter silence amongst them as Cassius slowly inched towards them, he staggers and almost fell down, Ethan went to his rescue and sat him over a nearby rock. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"I met him. Professor Ex, and his three cronies wearing garments of black and white. They were strong, incredibly so... I thought I could exert divine punishment... But... They made short work of me."

"My goodness you'll need to be treated! How are you even alive?" Ashley worriedly asked.

"Well, I died–but I had a pre encoded resurrection spell. It's a master level diviner skill."

"You're a master diviner?", Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Our my family's court physician is..." Cassius voice trails off as he falls into deep slumber.

"No wonder he is eager to play hero. Esteemed family carry the virtue of noblesse oblige. Great, this team couldn't get any weirder," Lorenz conjectured.

"Not as weird as you, a commotion had turned the town upside down and yet you're just covered with a blanket. Don't you have an ounce of decency?"

"I must let you know I am an esteemed gentleman and my manners are usually refined. This occasion of a nudist streak is the first of its kind."

Ethan hands him a bag of gold, "Some market stalls are unaffected by the fire. Go buy yourself some clothes and some gear."

"Thank you! Finally!" Lorenz grabs the bag of gold and rushes over to the market stalls.

Looking at the unconscious boy, Ethan sighs, "Thank goodness you're alive, Cassius. I wouldn't know how to deal with myself if you weren't. I don't want to lose another student."

They all head to the town infirmary to get their bruises and wounds treated. This world has a faster way of treating physical injuries; however, when it comes to pain afflicted to the soul—even a world brimming with magic is yet to find a cure.